Yahoo Finance We're Hopeful That BriaCell Therapeutics (TSE:BCT) Will Use Its Cash Wisely
We can readily understand why investors are attracted to unprofitable companies. Indeed, BriaCell Therapeutics (TSE:BCT) stock is up 106% in the last year, providing strong gains for shareholders. Nonetheless, only a fool would ignore the risk that a loss making company burns through its cash too quickly.
Given its strong share price performance, we think it's worthwhile for BriaCell Therapeutics shareholders to consider whether its cash burn is concerning. For the purposes of this article, cash burn is the annual rate at which an unprofitable company spends cash to fund its growth; its negative free cash flow. First, we'll determine its cash runway by comparing its cash burn with its cash reserves.
See our latest analysis for BriaCell Therapeutics
Does BriaCell Therapeutics Have A Long Cash Runway?
A company's cash runway is the amount of time it would take to burn through its cash reserves at its current cash burn rate. As at January 2022, BriaCell Therapeutics had cash of US$48m and no debt. In the last year, its cash burn was US$12m. Therefore, from January 2022 it had 4.0 years of cash runway. Importantly, though, analysts think that BriaCell Therapeutics will reach cashflow breakeven before then. In that case, it may never reach the end of its cash runway. You can see how its cash balance has changed over time in the image below.
How Is BriaCell Therapeutics' Cash Burn Changing Over Time?
BriaCell Therapeutics didn't record any revenue over the last year, indicating that it's an early stage company still developing its business. So while we can't look to sales to understand growth, we can look at how the cash burn is changing to understand how expenditure is trending over time. Its cash burn positively exploded in the last year, up 2,170%. We certainly hope for shareholders' sake that the money is well spent, because that kind of expenditure increase always makes us nervous. Clearly, however, the crucial factor is whether the company will grow its business going forward. So you might want to take a peek at how much the company is expected to grow in the next few years.
How Hard Would It Be For BriaCell Therapeutics To Raise More Cash For Growth?
Given its cash burn trajectory, BriaCell Therapeutics shareholders may wish to consider how easily it could raise more cash, despite its solid cash runway. Companies can raise capital through either debt or equity. Many companies end up issuing new shares to fund future growth. By comparing a company's annual cash burn to its total market capitalisation, we can estimate roughly how many shares it would have to issue in order to run the company for another year (at the same burn rate).
BriaCell Therapeutics has a market capitalisation of US$95m and burnt through US$12m last year, which is 12% of the company's market value. As a result, we'd venture that the company could raise more cash for growth without much trouble, albeit at the cost of some dilution.
So, Should We Worry About BriaCell Therapeutics' Cash Burn?
Even though its increasing cash burn makes us a little nervous, we are compelled to mention that we thought BriaCell Therapeutics' cash runway was relatively promising. One real positive is that analysts are forecasting that the company will reach breakeven. Based on the factors mentioned in this article, we think its cash burn situation warrants some attention from shareholders, but we don't think they should be worried. Taking a deeper dive, we've spotted 6 warning signs for BriaCell Therapeutics you should be aware of, and 3 of them are a bit unpleasant.
Of course BriaCell Therapeutics may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of companies boasting high return on equity, or this list of stocks that insiders are buying.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
